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About Vet Innovations

Vet Innovations is a New England-based, technology-driven pet products company focused on companion animal health, wellness, and nutrition. The Company employs multiple proprietary and patented technologies, including wearable technology for pets (“collarables”) consistent with current Internet of Things (IOT) product applications, and infrared (IR) and radio frequency identification (RFID) integrated into solutions-oriented products within key segments of the pet products industry. The company has developed a proprietary RFID technology, termed Pet Field Communications™ (PFC), which is incorporated into its flagship PortionPro Rx™ pet feeding system.

Vet Innovations’ core strategies involve the automatic sensing and identification of a specific animal or pet to enable that animal to successfully interact with electromechanical devices, as well as other special applications of this technology. These applications are initially focused on nutritional aspects of pet care, treatment of animal obesity and related wellness programs, and the proper feeding of prescription and therapeutic foods to pets in multi-pet homes.

Vet Innovations is focused on a singular mission: to dramatically improve the lives of pets, pet parents, and their veterinarians through groundbreaking, innovative technology centered on animal wellness. Vet Innovations has developed unique and proprietary technology that controls what pets can and cannot access in their day-to-day living. The system automatically senses and identifies specific pets, enabling them to individually interact with different devices in the world around them. The company’s focus is on robotic-based electromechanical technology that not only simplifies and improves the treatment of pet obesity, but also enhances overall pet wellness.

The Founders

Troy Hexter, DVM, Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Hexter has been practicing companion animal medicine for more than 25 years, and most of those years have been at the Old Canal Veterinary Hospital in Plainville, CT. Troy grew up around animals and always knew he wanted to be a veterinarian from the time he was in grade school.

He has a passion for animals that drove him to volunteer for a local veterinarian in his hometown of Columbus, OH during high school and where he continued to work through college at The Ohio State University. It was there where he earned his undergraduate and doctor of veterinary medicine degrees. After moving to Connecticut and spending a few years in private practice, Troy took a position running the Animal Emergency Clinic in West Hartford. It was this role that gave him new challenges and opportunities to improve his skills and experiences.

In practice, Troy routinely sees situations where parents of multiple pets struggled with the daily feeding regimens. But it was a near tragic personal event that became the impetus for his role at Vet Innovations. A multiple-pet parent himself, he almost lost one of his six cats when dramatic diet-related weight loss went unnoticed. Fortunately, he caught this and intervened, and today Daisy is still with the Hexter family and doing well. But it was this experience that prompted him to begin the process of creating the Vet Innovations’ unique access control technology. Dr. Hexter is excited about the potential to solve the challenges of dietary management in the multi-pet home, and deliver on his passion for caring for animals.

David Jalbert, VP of Operations and Product Development

Dave is an expert in consumer product design and engineering, and brings that expertise to Vet Innovations, where he leads the product development effort. After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he quickly set out to establish himself in product development. He has worked for some of the largest and most successful consumer tool and appliance manufacturers, including Black & Decker, Stanley, and SharkNinja.

A gifted product innovator, Dave has led engineering and design efforts for small appliances and cordless/corded power tools manufactured all over the world. While keeping current in product development skills he has managed engineering groups of up to 70 people for large public to small private companies as well as running his own product development consulting business. He holds more than 30 patents and patents pending across a wide range of consumer products.

Dave is passionate about leveraging his deep experience to develop and design the unique access control devices that Vet Innovations will soon bring to market.

Robert LaRoche, President and CEO

Bob is a highly experienced executive who has successfully launched and grown numerous business ventures over the course of his career. After attending Vanderbilt University, Bob immediately gained core sales and marketing expertise while working for several of the most respected Fortune 500 companies. He led large regional sales and service operations for major equipment manufacturers, while honing key skills in P&L management and general business operations.

A self-described “serial entrepreneur”, Bob acquired a small company in Boston and grew it into the largest provider of commercial print vending equipment and services to public and academic libraries in the United States. He also acquired a small Harley-Davidson dealership, then immediately revamped and expanded operations to become one of the premier dealerships in New England.

Bob has a passion for building businesses, and credits his success to his ability to build high-performing teams, his good instincts, and the knack for “connecting the dots” to see the bigger picture. As CEO of Vet Innovations, Bob sees a unique opportunity to bring unique, disruptive technology to common problems impeding companion animal wellness, and in doing so, help pets live longer, healthier lives.

Our Mission

"We are focused on developing innovative new technology-based tools that improve the health, well-being, and longevity of pets while also enhancing the human-animal bond."